Agnew Faces LIFE

Arriving in the midst of the ITT affair, an article in LIFE last week raised still more questions about the relationship between the Nixon Administration and some of its wealthy political backers. The central figure in the story was San Diego Millionaire C. Arnholt Smith, a longtime Nixon backer. Smith was under investigation in 1970 for possible violations of federal law by channeling campaign contributions to Nixon in 1968. LIFE charged that through the White House, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service, the Administration tried to squelch investigations, delay prosecutions and interfere with cases involving Smith, another major G.O.P. fund raiser in San Diego and a former mayor of the city, Democrat Frank Curran.

Smith refused to comment on LIFE'S charges for the present. The Justice Department issued a curt denial. But two former federal investigators who were involved in the cases supported LIFE'S story. One of the strongest denunciations came from Vice President Spiro Agnew. In Los Angeles for a press conference of high school journalists, Agnew declared, "I don't have a high respect for a magazine that has such a high gullibility quotient that they would publish the Clifford Irving story." LIFE, of course, never did publish the Irving story. Agnew added, "The best and most charitable thing LIFE could do would be to follow the course taken by Look magazine"--which folded last year. But when he was asked repeatedly whether the LIFE article was accurate, Agnew snapped, "That is a damn stupid question. I haven't even read it yet."

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